Monthly Volunteer Spotlight: June 2017 Edition

Friday, June 30, 2017

For June’s monthly volunteer spotlight, we sat
down to talk with Malinda Moore, whose energy and zeal for service have already made her a big part of the team at the Old Town Clinic. Read on to hear about how she got involved with CCC and what keeps her coming back as a volunteer.

• • •

Peter:
What is your name and volunteer position?

Malinda: Concierge at Old Town Clinic, or as some of the clients say, you must not have made it in to the greeters at Walmart or the Home
Depot!

P: Oh no!

M: No! They say it affectionately, especially the clients that recognize that you’re there more often. They remember people.

P: You’ve been there for how long now?

M: Since around Christmas of last year.

P: I’m sure you’ve become a familiar face for folks at the clinic.

M: You hope so. Every day is different. Some days there may be someone who needs a little extra arm around the shoulder and help to stay
calm. Other days there are people who just need someone to say hi, or just do something that they don’t expect, like open the door before they get
a chance to push the button. I can get out there and get that door open before the patient can. It’s just fun to see the look on people’s faces when
someone is nice to them because they’re next to them.

P: That’s probably not something some of our clients see too often, is someone going the extra mile for them.

M: Exactly, and they deserve it as much as anyone does. That’s one of the most fun parts about it.

P: Is there anything that is challenging about it?

M: I don’t have many challenges there. When you’re there observing, the front line people treat every one of those clients like it’s the
governor or the mayor. And they remember their names! I can’t believe how many people come in every day and before they step in the door it’s like,
“Hi, such and such, how are you doing?” The staff treat them and they treat each other with that same respect. And the clients treat each other with
respect. They’ll take time to listen to each other and help each other out. They’re very compassionate with each other. It’s very uplifting to see
these people be so compassionate and be working so hard to be doing what they need to do get better.

P: Have you had a particular moment stick out in the time that you’ve been volunteering?

M: There was one woman who came who was having a mental health crisis, and she wasn’t a client, but staff was working really hard to find
how best to help her. When staff would leave, I would just sit with her and she had her head in her hands, but once I started talked to her she would
put her head up and we would look at pictures of her dog, her boyfriend, and we had great conversations. It was nice to see that I didn’t have to be
doing anything medical for her, just sitting there having a friend was good enough to make her feel better. Then you get to meet people that have such
varied backgrounds and skills and they’re just such interesting people! There’s nothing big, but every day I come back and say to my husband, “Guess
what? I had the best time talking to this person!”

P: Is that what keeps you coming back to volunteer?

M: Yes! I may go two days a week! I really look forward to it. I used to really look forward to going to work every day, so this is this
same feeling, like, I get to go to work! And be with people I like to be with.

P: That’s a great feeling.

M: I’m very lucky.

P: And what is your background?

M: I was a medical speech pathologist, so I worked in inpatient, outpatient, home health, hospice, ICU. I got to do all of those. It was
that kind of hospital where everybody talked to everybody. You could meet the doctor in the hallway and he’d want t know what you thought about his
patient. There wasn’t this hierarchy. It was a great place to work. I get some of that same feeling from the Old Town Clinic. You just watch all these
people at OTC and there’s just so much collaboration, it could be a role model for any clinic in the state. It’s not just a job there. The minute someone
walks in the door someone want to help them.

P: What got you involved with CCC?

M: Oh, this is a great story! My husband, who is a retired attorney, pours wine in a winery in Albany and he got to talking to a woman
at the winery, who happened to be a CCC employee and he came home that day and said, “We’re going to start donating to Central City Concern!” It was just like that. He was so impressed with what she told him. And then when we moved to
Portland, I decided this is where I’d like to spend some time. So that’s where it started, the winery!

P: What do you think someone who is on the fence might want to know?

M: I think, no matter what they did, if it was something they thought they might like, they’re going to be treated really well. People
are going to go out of their way to help them feel comfortable and they’re going to be appreciated. If I show up on a day I don’t normally volunteer,
they’ll be like, ‘Aren’t you usually here on Wednesday?’